Balancing Act Advice

The Kalmyk

Well-Known Member
Recently I have come to find out that there will be an addition to the family in May. I also have a 14 month old in the house now. The days of self indulgence are looking grim in the near future. Now with one child I do a pretty good job of balancing my time, work time and family time. Currently I have my Wednesday after work ride guarenteed to me without the "where the hell are you" phone call. As of late my weekly mileage has been inconsistent. What are some of you dads doing to stay on the bike and keep your miles consistent?
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
What are some of you dads doing to stay on the bike and keep your miles consistent?

Ride before everyone else wakes up. No 2 ways about it, this is the best way to do it.

After you try 50 other things that don't work, you will realize this is how you need to do it.

See you next Tuesday or Thursday at dawn to ride CR? ;)
 

walter

Fourth Party
What Norm said.

After the new new baby stuff gets worked in, do your best to get out early. That way you can get out and back to enjoy the mayhem;)

Oh, congrats!!
 

elzoller

El Guac-Oh
1 kid was not that difficult, 2 kids, starts getting complicated, and more if the 1st one is not that old yet...14mo :scared:
Mine are 5mo & 4yr

I use to do like Norm...ride as early as possible. 5am/6am/7am starts..back by 11/12/1

With 2 kids I changed to a little bit later, that way, i take care of the 1st feeding of the little one and i make breakfast for the older one. The wife gets to sleep in a little.

The first 2 months are the toughest ones with the lack of sleep, but I was getting out as much as I could...I only missed a couple of weekends here and there.

The road bike helped (after the second kid) because at least I got to do some quick rides on the road for 1to3 hrs, instead of the 5-7hr mtb rides (driving included)
 

The Kalmyk

Well-Known Member
I know they are really close together:eek:...Oh well...Does anyone have a wife that makes the sign on the dotted line when they do go for a ride? That's a whole other issue...Getting my wife to understand how much I love my bikes:(...Though I am not a fan I think I might have to commit to a ROAD bike
 

BiknBen

Well-Known Member
Recently I have come to find out that there will be an addition to the family in May.

Your wife is cool with your GF moving in? That is a sweet gig. :rofl:

BTW: congrats!

I have ridden far more since my kids were born. First few years were a breeze. Now they have schedules. :rolleyes: B-Day parties, school, sports, activities. WTF!

Here is the trick. Tell your wife you will be back one hour later than you expect. You get home early every time. Bonus? Tell her you came home early cause you missed her. :rofl:
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
First of all, congratulations :whoopdedo

Remember your comment to me in another thread about not driving that far south and my response? :hmmm:

We have 2 kids, Colin just turned 5 and Sarah is turning 3 in a few weeks. Only recently, have we been able to strike a balance in our house about my riding habit. That is exactly what it has turned into, a habit. My ride schedule is predictable, and it has become part of the family schedule. TBH, I blame myself for it taking that long to work it is out with the missus.

It also helps if your wife is friendly with your riding buddies SO.
 

The Kalmyk

Well-Known Member
Your wife is cool with your GF moving in? That is a sweet gig. :rofl:


BTW: congrats!

I have ridden far more since my kids were born. First few years were a breeze. Now they have schedules. :rolleyes: B-Day parties, school, sports, activities. WTF!

Here is the trick. Tell your wife you will be back one hour later than you expect. You get home early every time. Bonus? Tell her you came home early cause you missed her. :rofl:


I'm going to try the hour earlier than expected trick...I likey that advise...I hope my daughter takes to biking as did yours...I have one foot in the door already because she loves being outside and loves bike rides thru Tatum Park in R-ville
 

The Kalmyk

Well-Known Member
First of all, congratulations :whoopdedo

Remember your comment to me in another thread about not driving that far south and my response? :hmmm:

I can forsee making it up to your neck of the woods will be a challenge very near future...Hopefully this thread will help me with that...I do love riding up there
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
Like other people have said, ride early and get a road bike or plan to ride Mercer alot. As you know, I only have a son, so it isnt that hard. Like Ben said, I ride way more now than I did before kids. As you see from my riding schedule, I end up riding almost all road...

When my son was first born, I built up a trials bike so if I had 1/2 hr of free time, I could go f around and still get something out of it since you can ride trials anywhere and find something to challenge yourself.
 

mike_243

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
Dude,
congrats on the new arrival.....my daughter is all grown but I still do the rode thing by 06:00 back by 09:00 my wife gets up I get a lumberjack breakfast....and I can still get stuff done round the house...
 
G

Greenman

Guest
Congrats on the new addition to your family :)

I have a 2 year old, and it was tough going at first. I personally had a hard time cutting my ride time down, but things have smoothed out since the dust has settled a bit.

Just like everyone else has said allready get out early if possible. What helped my situation is to lay out a schedule with my wife, so I didn't blind side her with "Hey honey I'm going for a ride see ya in a few hours".

Hope all works out for you.
 

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
+1 on early. early is good to get out.

also +1 on a street bike. i don't have the cash for a road bike, so i am riding a DJ bike (mucho cheaper). i tool around on stuff around the home, practice skinnies, etc. no cardio but i am out riding.

i stay local too. luckily where i live, i have good local rides: six mile, chimney rock, sourlands, and rutgers...

another good way to sneak in rides - get into work earlier (if possible) every once in a while to leave early from work to ride. you'll get home at your normal after-work time and you'll have a ride in. that's if your job is flexible for that. mine is... sometimes.
 

Fogerson

Former Resident Nerd
Congrats Spence.

No doubt, getting out earlier works out best. I also might suggest that you take it on the chin and ride herd on both youngin's on regular basis and encourage your wife to get out and get away.

I've found that the "problems" start when either neither of you are getting some time to yourselves to do what you want OR there is an imbalance getting out between the two of you.

Oh, and getting out *together* alone once in a while can grab you 3-4 rides (or more!) to her one time getting out ;)
 

TonyC

Active Member
Good job Spence! Congrats again.

It's not going to be easy to balance everything especially the first few months, but I'm sure you'll figure something out.

1 kid = easy
2 kids = difficult
3 kids = crazy
4+ kids = out of your f'in mind

As you already know the early 7am rides work the best.

Here's another tip... NEVER EVER come home tired.


We are fortunate that my wife is a stay home Mom. My 5 and 7 yr old boys are in full day school so all she has is the 2yr old. So she better let me ride every Sunday morning ;)

My kids love riding their bikes so I'm going to have a MTBNJ Kid crew in a few more years.
 
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